


sudden painful joy

by starksnack



Series: April is the Cruelest Month [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Baby Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Gen, Parent Tony Stark, Precious Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Protective Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 09:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18658054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starksnack/pseuds/starksnack
Summary: Tony shows Morgan the constellations.





	sudden painful joy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ohmyhiddles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmyhiddles/gifts).



> Lol, this is kinda sad. Good luck.  
> Special thanks to my beta Maddie @myspideysensesrtingling for helping me out with this.  
> \- Kait <3

Tony wakes up to the sound of fussing and rubs the sleep from his eyes. His gaze dances around the room as he relaxes into the bed, contentment rushing over him. He feels well rested, a constant these days, as he tries to find what woke him up. He slides his fingers over the silk sheets, listening to the steady breathing of Pepper beside him, her hair in a fierce red halo on her pillow.

The sound of another whine on the baby monitor has Tony turning his head but he waits a while to see if Morgan will calm down and go back to sleep on her own. Pepper has lectured him several times on the benefits of self soothing, but in the end, Tony always caves and this time is no different. With a grin he carefully slips out of bed, feet padding down the hall.

It’s a little cold in just his boxers and a thin black tank top, fuzzy socks on his feet, but Tony finds that he doesn’t mind it all that much. He’s too fascinated with the comforting way the floorboards creak under his weight, and he can’t wait until Morgan is old enough that he can hear her footsteps pattering against the hardwood as she runs down the hallway.

He’s so excited to see her grow up. To buy her new clothes when she outgrows her old ones. To kiss her cuts and bruises better as he teaches her how to ride a bike. To help her with her homework at the kitchen table. After officially stepping away from the company, he has all the time in the world to spend with his daughter, and he can’t wait to cherish every moment of it. Every breakup, every accomplishment, every smile.

It’s crazy to think that he was ever hesitant to be a father, because now that he has Morgan, he never wants to let her go. As he pushes the door open, his gaze settling on the center of his universe whining in her crib, he knows he wouldn’t rather be anywhere else for all the money in the world.

He heads over to her crib; they had gone with white wood in the nursery with soft blue and green accents. There is a sky painted across the ceiling, a constellation of stars that Tony had painstakingly mapped out so Morgan can always look up, toward the future.

Tony tries not to slip on the dry erase markers littered across the floor, a smile curling across his face. He painted the walls dry erase so she could always express her creative side and make a mess. He carefully collects all the markers to put in their bin, his back twinging in protest as he bends over. He really is getting old.

When Tony steps up to the crib, Morgan has her nose wrinkled as she tries to eat her own foot, brown eyes half-lidded. She’s not far from sleep, and while Tony doesn’t want to keep her up and risk a collicky baby in the morning, he wants to pick her up and hold her close to his heart, right where she belongs.

Carefully, he pulls her foot out of her mouth and lifts his precious daughter out of her crib. He cradles her to his shoulder, a firm hand under her bottom as he grabs a soft, fuzzy blanket to pull over her shoulders like a cape. She’s his own personal superhero and now she looks the part too.

Tony presses a soft kiss to her hair as he walks out of the nursery, humming softly to his daughter. He remembers his mother doing the same for him and his heart aches to have her by him and to show her what he has been able to accomplish. He knows she would be incredibly proud of him; proud that he now has a bambino of his own.

Morgan is gumming on his bare shoulder as he gets to the living room, looking out the picture window at the idyllic lake. He thinks he’ll get Morgan a tent so they can sleep under the stars.

Slowly, he pulls open the front door, stepping out onto the porch and letting the warm summer air wash over him. The night is still, a perfect picture as constellations dance high in the sky with the moon reflecting off the water. Morgan makes a happy gurgle as he sits down in the rocking chair on the porch, letting the soft sounds of waves lapping at the shore sooth him. It’s so rare for New York, but there are fireflies flitting across the water, a distant glint in the tree line.

Getting a house by the lake was one of the first things he had done since getting back from Titan. He had his heart set on building Pepper a farm but this was second best. And then his dreams literally came true and they had Morgan.

Tony rearranges Morgan so he can cradle her in one arm, and point out different constellations with his free hand. He tells her about Hercules, knowing that she will be strong someday in ways that he could never be. He tells her about Cassiopeia who is a princess just like she is. He tells her about Polaris, and how it always lead sailors back home. He tells her about how the arc reactor can be her own personal Polaris, connecting her to her daddy wherever he is. A lighthouse in a sea of stars.

He looks down at his baby girl to find that she’s already looking up at him, quiet and reverent as she sucks on her thumb, listening intently. Morgan’s cheeks are flushed a pretty pink as Tony rocks her in the warm night, pressing kisses to her hair and listening to her soft suckles. It’s in that moment he decides he’s the luckiest man in the world.

Everything is so perfect and Tony wants it to last forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Come chat with me on [tumblr](https://starksnack.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/starksnack/).


End file.
